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Bahari: internet is the key to helping journalists jailed by Iranian regime
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…Last week, in a keynote speech at Index on Censorship’s freedom of expression awards, after describing his ordeal, he suggested what might be done to help journalists jailed by the Islamic Republic.
He argued that the digital age has heralded the dawn of a new era because it has enabled educated Iranians to communicate with each other and the outside world.
It has also reduced the gap between the elite and the masses. “And that frightened the government,” said Bahari. “The protest of millions of people against [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad’s re-election in June 2009 was a clear manifestation of this narrowing gap.
“I was on the streets of Tehran during those days. The demonstrators were not all secular, educated, westernised individuals. They were factory workers, housewives and farmers.
“In the absence of any clear vision for the future of the country and looking for a quick fix the government chose to blame the media for stirring people.”
When Bahari was arrested nine days after the election his interrogator told him: “There is no difference between culture, journalism and intelligence… You gather and report information. That is exactly what a spy does.”
But he believes his release “shows that the Iranian government is not as indifferent to negative publicity as it pretends to be.”
He also contends that “supporting the free flow of information to and from Iran is investing in Iran’s future” because “it narrows the gap between Iranians and the rest of the world. It is the quickest shortcut to democracy for Iranians.”
In the meantime, the regime will try its best to suffocate the voices of dissent through brute force, he said. “Many lives will perish and be lost in the process. There will be periods of silence and days of turbulence.
“But in the end, as Prophet Mohammad said: ‘An infidel can rule a nation for a long time. But an oppressor will never succeed in doing so.’”
To offer your support for the campaign for the release of Iranian journalists from prison go to www.oursocietywillbeafreesociety.org.
Guardian: Maziar Bahari: ‘The Iranian government is shooting the messenger’
An edited extract from the speech given by Maziar Bahari at the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression awards.
Being a journalist in Iran is one of the most insecure jobs in a country run by one of the most insecure governments in the world. More than a hundred journalists have been arrested since the disputed presidential elections last summer. It’s very difficult to put a precise figure to the number in prison because it’s been a revolving door. They arrest a group of journalists one day and they let others go the next day. The government is trying hard to prove it is in control of the lives of each and every citizen.
In the age of the internet and satellite television, the Iranian government is trying hard to change the tide of history. It wants to take Iran back to the era of shortwave radio and terrestrial television, media that it could easily control. A wise government would listen to the voices of its own people. The Iranian government is shooting the messenger.
How did we get here? The internet and satellite television brought the knowledge that was the preserve of selected members of the westernised, educated elite to a greater number of Iranians. The gap between the elite and the masses was quickly disappearing. And that frightened the government.
The protest by millions of people against Ahmadinejad’s re-election in June 2009 was a clear manifestation of this narrowing gap. The demonstrators included factory workers, housewives and farmers. In the absence of any clear vision for the future of the country, and looking for a quick fix, the government chose to blame the media for stirring people up. It particularly tried to incriminate the western media for trying to create a velvet revolution like those in Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and Georgia. After the elections, the takeover of the government by the guards gained a new momentum. They took charge of all the cultural activities as well as the intelligence apparatus. The guards started doing what they do best: suppression of voices of dissent and using violence.
The guards arrested me nine days after the election. My interrogator said: “You gather and report information. That is exactly what a spy does.”
For 118 days in 2009 I witnessed an ignorant, confused regime trying to fight its own people through sheer paranoia. The fact that I was freed shows that the Iranian government is not as indifferent to negative publicity as it pretends to be. Iran is not North Korea. Iran needs the help of the international community to survive. The Iranian government right now is using international satellite technology to send its message of hate. The world community should prevent the government from benefiting from what it denies its own people.
This is an edited speech given by Maziar Bahari at the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression awards. To support the release of Iranian journalists from prison, go to oursocietywillbeafreesociety.org
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